Too Old For Your Age
by StormyWeatherBringsUsTogether
Summary: What was supposed to be a fun party has gotten Chise reminiscing on how empty her childhood in Japan truly was and how that affects her in small ways even years later. Elias upon coming upon a similar revelation decides that they should try to remedy their lack of a childhood together.
1. Colors

**Too Old For Your Age**

 **Part 1: Colors**

 **Contains minor spoilers from the manga.**

 **This is the first of the drabbles (although it ended up much longer than I would have thought) I have planned based on a** **post** **I made a while back on my Tumblr. The tone and content ended up slightly different from that of the original post but I believe I'm mostly happy with how it came out. I can't really make any promises on when the next one will come but I will try my best.**

 **The Ancient Magus Bride belongs to Kore Yamazaki**

* * *

"Did you have any fun at Ethan's party?" Chise asked hopefully as she and Elias entered in the front door.

She was somewhat afraid of what his answer might be. Although they had obviously been present for the party, Ethan's 11th birthday had provided a prime education opportunity for the human teacher and her oblivious pupil. Elias had in time and practice grown more aware of his own feelings of jealousy and how to act appropriately when they sprung, but he was still no master. He shrugged off his robe and glanced down at his party favor bag sporting a picture of a man in a blue and red costume. "I suppose so, although I can't say I understood much of it."

"That's fine, there's still a lot I didn't understand either." Chise said with a small shrug and a relieved smile.

She made her way to the living room and was about to rest on the couch when she found Elias' gaze was lingering on her with the clear indication of curiosity etched across his features. She cocked her head in questioning, "What is it?"

"Did _you_ have a good time?" he asked bluntly.  
Chise frowned. "What makes you say that?"

"You seemed…stiff during most of the party." Chise was almost surprised he had noticed, but quickly thought better of it. Elias deserved a little more credit than she was giving him. He was growing more perceptive by the day, steadily coming into an ability to read her at the very least and other humans on infrequent occasion.

She thought for a moment. "I think had a good time…" it was true…mostly.

When her attention wasn't focused on the glamoured mage awkwardly meandering around the Barklem Home Chise had enjoyed talking to Stella and meeting a few of Ethan's younger friends. However, she still had felt…distant. She initially had chocked the feeling up to the difference in age, although that had never before caused any rift between her and the Barklem siblings. Yet when she saw the children engaged in games and stories of colorful characters and playful frivolities, she was almost frustrated at her inability to join along.  
"I guess…I still don't really know how friends or children are supposed to enjoy themselves."

Elias took his turn to cock his head. "Why do you suppose that is?"

That…was a good question. Why indeed?

"I'm not sure…I guess I just I never got a chance to do anything children normally do. Even before…even when I was with my family I couldn't go to school or play outside." Her early life in Japan had slowly begun to bleed into her memory over the years. As she remembered more and more she realized that strangely enough her happy memories had been buried alongside the dark ones. Perhaps that was because those few bright moments were only bright in comparison. Anyone in a normal situation would call her earliest days of hiding indoors alongside her mother until her father could ward off hungry assailants terrifying rather than comforting. Not to say there were no truly bright moments. Brief minutes between hiding and running had yielded tumbling over park toys with her father or cooking with her mother. But even so, those few lights were hardly an equal for the seemingly endless night up until a fateful trip across the hemisphere.

Her grip tightened on her own party favor. "I didn't have much of a childhood when I really think about it." Why did this cause her heart to sink so much now?

Large gentle fingertips cupped her jaw tenderly urging her gaze upwards.  
"Did I upset you, Chise? I didn't mean to pry into something you'd rather not think about." He said with a hint of worry in his voice as he brushed his thumb across her cheek.

A wave of guilt washed over her. This outing was supposed to help Elias deal with his feelings of envy and here she was getting tangled up in her own. She placed her hand atop of his and made efforts to swallow the knot growing uncomfortably in her throat. It wouldn't do for a teacher to lose composure in front of her student.

"You didn't upset me, I just got a bit lost in thought." Elias hummed in response clearly not convinced by her answer but respecting her desire not to divulge all at once.

The humming continued as he released her jaw placing his hand on his chin in contemplation. "Thinking about it, I don't suppose I had much of one either." He said in a somewhat uncertain tone.

"Really? Even when you were traveling with Lindel?" Mention of Echoes brought a grumble out Elias.

"Although that time was formative, I wouldn't call it a proper childhood. It was mostly spent navigating a very harsh land with more than a few unpleasant encounters." The hand on his chin slowly dropped to his chest as his eyes fixed on a pattern on the wall. "I wonder…maybe that has something to do with why neither of us could understand much of the party. I believe we may have missed something important in those years." Although his tone remained neutral a slight wistfulness played on the edge of Elias' eyes making something in Chise's chest ache.

Something important…what was it that the other children had that she didn't that made her so envious? Or maybe it was something they didn't have? They didn't have to worry about ravenous other-creatures eagerly waiting to find out if they tasted sweet or bitter. And because of that, they could roam play yards free of invisible assailants.

"If I had to guess I'd say you missed the chance to have fun free of worry. That's the nice thing about being a kid really. Responsibilities and expectations don't exist or at least not as great as they do in adulthood. They get to do things for the sake of enjoying them no matter how insignificant they may seem."

Elias glanced upward in thought, cogs turning in his skull. "Let's do that then."

Chise raised an eyebrow "Do what?"  
"Those 'insignificant fun things' children do, let's do some of them."  
"Really? Why?"

"You can teach me what a 'childhood' should feel like and you can get to experience some of the things you couldn't in Japan." He stated plainly making Chise feel a little sheepish.

"Are you sure? Some of it is definitely pretty silly and don't we have orders due?"

"If it doesn't bother you then I don't mind silly and Silver Lady can take care of anything minor." He hesitated briefly before adding. "Of course if you would rather not than we do not have to do anything." Chise didn't like the idea of dumping work onto Silver, even though the brownie could handle anything without batting an eyelash…However, Elias was rarely so insistent and eager.

She cracked a cautious smile. "Well, I guess I don't see why not."  
His head bobbed in a happy nod "Now then, how should we begin?"

"Oh! um…" Right…what did children do these days? What had she done, or wanted to do, as a child that Elias would enjoy?

She fidgeted slightly causing the bag in her hands to crinkle. The party favors…She began to rummage lightly through its contents, a few plastic toys, a paper book and- Oh! This was an easy place to start. She pulled out a small yellow cardboard box eyeing it slightly, "Why don't we start with these? Could you grab some blank paper and meet me at the dining table?"

In a few moments, they were sitting in their respective seats at the dining table, a small stack of cream white stationary and two small boxes of crayons sat in front of them. Chise reached for a box hesitating slightly. Would it be better to leave them in their box or to lay them all out on the table? Probably the table. Elias watched Chise's motions patiently as she took one of the thin boxes and propped it open. He took the other box and followed her example.

"Have you seen crayons before?" She asked curiously.  
"Once maybe, although I don't know what they're for. They are a writing instrument, yes?"  
"They're more of an instrument for drawing…"

She poured the crayons of her box into her hand and placed them on the table, Elias did the same causing a faint waxy smell to permeate the air. There were ten crayons in all, the boxes had both yielded the same colors; red, green, blue, yellow and black.

"So…there's really not much to this," she grabbed a black crayon and a piece of stationery, "you just take one and draw a picture."

Elias stared at the crayons with a critical eye. "I can only take one?" His hand wavered over the red but retracted, frightened by the commitment of the decision. Chise giggled.

"You can use as many as you'd like, but it's like a quill, it's hard to use more than one at a time."

Elias seemed to relax and picked up the red. "What should I draw?"

"Whatever you'd like, there aren't any rules. Although you should probably take off your gloves, the crayon could leave a stain, maybe roll up your sleeves too." Elias nodded and complied placing his gloves on the corner of the table. He picked up the red once again and ran his fingers over it pressing lightly to gauge its strength before positioning it like he would a quill pen. It was almost comically small in his enormous lavender hands. He tentatively placed his crayon against the stationary and slowly dragged it across the surface. "It's…rougher than a quill."

Chise smiled, with a creature as old as Elias there were very few new experiences. Watching him work through the kinks of a rare first try was oddly endearing. Until the crayon snapped.

He lifted the fractured halves to his face and sighed. "I'm sorry Chise…"

"It's ok!" she reassured quickly leaning forward and grabbing his hand that lay on the table, "there's another red you can use. Besides!" She grabbed the half still bearing a point and scribbled a circle on Elias' paper. "It still can be used, it's just a bit smaller." She smiled at him before releasing his hand and handing him the spare red crayon. He took it cautiously before trying again, making sure to press lighter this time. After a few strokes, he started moving more confidently and eventually switched to the green crayon.

An odd sense of pride welled up in Chise as she watched him grow faster and more assured. She rested her elbow on the table propping her chin against her hand in thought trying to come up with something to draw herself. She glanced out the kitchen window where the early summer wooly bugs drifted through the air, baaing lazily. That seemed easy enough.

She dragged the black crayon in light curves creating a puffy cloud body followed by six black legs. The gentle action was calming. She couldn't recall the last time she had drawn like this aside from little doodles in the margins of her notes.

Hmm, what did their faces look like again? She peered up for the window but caught Elias staring at her intently. He didn't meet her eyes but held his gaze for a moment before returning to his drawing.

That was…odd.

Deciding that if he didn't want to explain she shouldn't pry, she returned to her own drawing.

A comfortable silence settled over them occasionally accompanied by a shift of paper or changing colors. It wasn't until she had finished coloring in the bug's face and legs that the silence was broken by a groan from Elias.

"Is there a method for undoing mistakes?"  
She thought for a moment. "I don't think so, at least not for crayons and paper."  
"Hmm," he held up his paper eyeing it with scrutiny, "I see."

Flames bloomed from his fingers swallowing up the stationery in an instant with not a trace of ash left to prove it had ever existed. He took a new slip of paper and nonchalantly resumed drawing.

Chise huffed. "You know these don't have to be perfect or anything."  
"I would still rather start over." Elias replied with a shrug.  
She sighed without exasperation and continued onto the bugs wings.

The silence returned as Chise finished her wooly bug. She placed it aside grabbing a new paper and briefly caught Elias staring at her again. She elected to ignore it since he seemed content enough and started drawing a salamander. After finishing rather quickly, during which Elias burned another sheet, Chise excused herself to the washroom briefly which Elias only distractedly acknowledged. When she returned Silver Lady was at the kitchen sink washing vegetables.

"Ack! Silver I'm sorry are we in-" the brownie raised a finger to her lips and smiled brightly before returning to her washing. A half smile found its way to Chise's lips as she went to sit down before realizing her chair had been moved. It now sat on the side normally reserved for Elias alone who still sat quietly scribbling away.

She could have sworn she heard Silver chuckle.

Very aware of the fluttering in her chest, Chise grabbed a new sheet and sat next to her mage. Elias paused briefly to curl an arm around her shoulders leaning her to his side without a word. Well used to his heedless affections, Chise leaned her cheek against his side. As she did so, she caught a glimpse of his paper. Apparently, he had started over again as it currently only bore two empty black ovals. He gave her a quick side hug before releasing her and returning to the paper once more.

Her eyes lingered on his skull, quietly observing the shadows and contours from the dips and grooves in the bone.

Finally breaking away her gaze, she picked up a black crayon and set to work.

—

Peals of Silver's bell finally brought the magi out of their concentration after the sun had sunk just below the horizon.

"Dinner time already?" Chise said as she stretched her back and arms.

"It seems to be." Elias responded, "We should probably wash up before helping set the table."

Nodding Chise made her way to the washroom. She returned shortly finding Ruth positioned at his seat and the table already clear of their little project.

"Uh, where are-?" Silver with plates in both hands gestured toward the fridge with a small hum.

Held in place by small magnets were their drawings; three by Chise and one by Elias. She Stepped closer to get a better look at the picture Elias had been so finicky about getting correct. Chise felt her cheeks burn.

It was only her head and shoulders but with red hair and green eyes, the drawing was unmistakably her. The drawing had her hair down on her shoulders, a thin line for a smile and wore her red sweater. He had even put in a little blue in the background for a sketchy sky. It wasn't perfect; the eyes were slightly different sizes, the nose was off center and there were several places where the colors ran together. But either Elias was finally satisfied with the outcome or Silver Lady had seized it before flames could lick it up. Regardless, Chise was…touched it had been spared.

Warmth settled on her shoulder and side.

"I see we had the same idea." He pointed to her final picture causing Chise's blush to flare hotter. His skull had proven not as difficult as she would have previously thought, at least from the side, but she had run out of room for all but a little of his horns causing it to look a little funny. She wasn't sure if proud was the right word for her feelings toward the drawing, there had to be at least three mistakes on her paper for every one on Elias', but she certainly felt glad she had made it.

She grasped the hand placed on her shoulder giving it a small squeeze. "Your drawing looks very nice."

He made a satisfied sound. "Thank you, yours does as well."

"So what do you think of our first childhood activity?"

Elias shifted his head as he methodically analyzed his feelings over the past few hours. "I would say it was enjoyable in its simplicity. Although I did find myself wishing I had more colors to use."

Chise smiled, "We can pick up a bigger pack next time we're in town…if you'd ever like to do this again that is."

He hummed softly as his thumb circled her shoulder blade.  
"I think I'd like that very much."


	2. By Torchlight

**Part 2: By Torchlight**

 **I can't really call these drabbles anymore since I've started playing with an overarching theme and they appear to keep getting longer. Either way, my sincere apologies that this took so long. Life, school and good ole fashioned writes block, you know the song and dance. That said, part 3 WILL be much sooner I promise.**

 **One last thing, Chise is 19 in this story. I put that in context clues in the first part but felt it might be best to state that out right.**

 **The Ancient Magus' Bride belongs to Kore Yamazaki**

* * *

Dinner proceeded without much grandeur, although it felt ever so slightly different sitting right next to Elias.

Feeling somewhat guilty watching Ruth placed alone at the start of dinner, Chise had almost contemplated returning her chair to its original side. That was until a sharp _'Don't even think about it._ ' flashed through her mind followed by an almost imperceptible smirk from her familiar.

It was supper like any other, vegetable stew, lemon and garlic chicken breast, baked potatoes and all with a generous serving of bread, butter, and honey, but it had been peppered by little pats on her shoulders or fingers occasionally curled around an unoccupied hand. She even found herself settling her palm on his forearm absentmindedly. Until she realized what she was doing and suddenly became very invested in buttering her bread.

 _'You keep that up and you'll end up with an entire stick of butter on there.'_

She sighed and resolutely tore a buttered end between her teeth.

Ruth snorted around shoving half of a potato down his gullet. _'Why is this making you upset? It's not as if you don't hold hands and such with him constantly nowadays.'_

'I'm not upset!' She felt so strangely defensive and she couldn't fathom why. _'It's just…that's usually, because he started it or he's upset and I want to make him feel better. Just doing it without a reason… feels greedy.'_

 _'Why? Elias does it all the time to you just because, and I know you don't mind. Why do you think he would?'_

 _'…that's different.'_

Ruth disguised an eye roll with a glance to the counter. 'If you say so.'

Once supper was finished, Chise helped Silver clear the table and was about to make her way for her evening bath when she came across the party favor bags on the counter. Should she try and come up with something else to do this night? Or would that be too stifling?

 _'As shocking as it might sound he does enjoy doing things with you.'_ Chise shot Ruth a glare who answered with a scoff.

She let out a small sigh, grabbed her bag and made way for her room.

As her hair dried from her bath, she emptied the contents of the little party favor onto her bed for a better look. The crayons were nowhere to be seen, likely given a more permanent home by Silky. Two Little plastic dinosaurs came from the bag. They were cute, but Chise couldn't think of anything to do with them. Lastly was the paper book, upon closer inspection; a comic book. It was rather small, apparently, a sample size specifically to be given out at parties. On its cover was a boy in a red and black striped jumper and a black furred animal, both wore mischievous grins.

'Dennis the Menace and Gnasher…' She read.

Her mind briefly flashed to a night years ago where once again she had been unable to sleep thanks to an intrusive imp taking residence on her futon. Unaware of her plight, her cousin lay on his belly, a sheet pulled over his head while he read his manga by a flashlight.

Well…he _does_ likes to read before bed anyway.

Her slippers quickly rapped down the stairs before briefly pausing in the foyer adjoining the kitchen and living room. She could hear Silver Lady still rummaging lightly in the kitchen before she slipped in.

"Silver," Chise called lightly gaining the brownie's attention, "I was wondering…do we have a torchlight anywhere?"

Silver cupped her chin between her thumb and forefinger in brief thought before putting down the bowl she had been washing and moving toward the counter. With a light hum, she opened a drawer and pulled out a short cylinder, handing it to Chise delicately. It was certainly an old torch, bearing slightly tarnished silver casing and a large convex bulb. Yet Chise always found any 'modern' technology housed in the old manor to be amusing and charming.

Chise smiled fondly and hugged the torch to her chest. "Thanks, Silver, I'll take good care of it." Silver nodded and returned to her work.

Steeling herself with a quick breath, Chise entered the living room where Elias had retired for the evening in his lounge chair. He was the very picture of a scholarly gentleman, One elbow propped with a lazy grace against the chair arm and his muzzle buried in a book with a title she couldn't read. And here she was in her pajamas with a comic book.

She suddenly felt very foolish and tried to retreat when he gazed upward at the soft footfalls of his apprentice. Crap. Caught. He cocked his head curiously, waiting for her to speak.

She sighed. No turning back now. "Elias? Are you doing anything important?"

"Not particularly, why?"

"Well…I was wondering if you'd like to try another childhood activity with me?" She was grateful that both of her hands were filled preventing her far too frequent fidgeting. "It's not hard and since you usually read before bed I thought you might like it. But you don't have to if you'd rather not."

He marked his page and closed the book with a light thump, giving her his full attention. "Of course I'd like to. What are we doing?"

"Um…I thought we could read this comic together before we go to bed."

"That sounds nice." He uncrossed his long legs and started for the couch when Chise interjected.

"Actually! I was…um thinking…we could read in your room? There was one other part to this…" she felt a warm hand on her shoulder.

"Of course we can. Just let me have a few minutes to change to nightwear."

He strode up the stairs, leaving Chise in the living room. She could mentally feel Ruth chastising her for being needlessly awkward but chose to ignore it. She followed into his room shortly where Elias sat in his dark blue pajamas on the edge of the bed waiting for her. His dressed down state had a calming effect on her nerves and she smiled a bit more confidently.

"Could you stand for a moment?" He complied.

Grabbing the heavy comforter, she began tugging the blankets, moving to tuck them on the headboard. After the ends of the blankets were successfully curled around the top and bottom of the bed, she took one of Elias' large pillows and propped the bottom end of the blankets against it. Lastly, she took her own tiny pillow to prop a small opening on the side of the bed. Comic and torch in hand, Chise wiggled into the little doorway she had made that was just big enough for her to crawl through. Settling herself against the headboard, she saw Elias peeking through the entrance looking uncertain but amused. Grinning, she patted the mattress in invitation.

He struggled to maneuver his head through the entrance and almost succeeded before his horn caught on the comforter. The fort came down with a rush of air as Chise yelped. She could hear Elias shaking his head free as she pulled the blankets off. Once untangled, he glanced up at Chise sheepishly, muttering an apology.

"No, its fine, this was a silly idea anyway." She said with a chuckle.

Elias took one of the blankets in hand, peering thoughtfully.

 _Nettles in the shadow…False holly in a ring…_

The blanket in his hand snaked upward before unraveling and melting into a dome encasing the entire bed. The only light came from Elias' ember eyes, which gazed at Chise expectantly.

"How is this?"

She smiled, fondly remembering this a similar barrier that had shielded her from storms. "Perfect, we probably should have started with this."

She clicked the torch on, bathing the two of them in a gentle yellow light. Elias propped his remaining pillow against the headboard before sitting cross-legged against it. He glanced at Chise and patted his thigh. Chise couldn't help but scoff at his forward yet somehow polite invitation. After she had crawled into his lap, Elias snuggly wrapped his arms around Chise's waist sneaking in a quick nuzzle to her cheek. Chise liked to fancy herself used to his affection, yet it could still put a nervous flutter in her belly from time to time.

"So what are we reading?" From her seat in his lap, Chise could feel Elias' every word rumble through her body.

Still gripping the torch in her left hand, Chise arranged the comic book across her knees. Elias dipped his head against her shoulder for a closer vantage. His eye bobbed like a red firefly in his dark socket, first down at the open book then back to Chise.

"I've seen this strip before, although I've never actually read it."

"Really?" He nodded lightly so as not to jostle her shoulder.

"It's been around for over half a century and appears in the newspaper occasionally. Oddly enough, a strip of the same name came out in America around the same time."

"Huh, how funny." She wondered to herself how much he knew of America. She had only vague knowledge of the new world but would like to visit if given the chance.

"I hear comics in Japan are laid out a bit differently." He stated curiously.

She thought for a moment. "They are, most of them are in black and white. And the panels go left to right instead of right to left."

"Why is that?"

Chise couldn't help but grin at the unfiltered interest in his voice. Despite the unhappy memories of her homeland, she did still foster a fondness for her culture and enjoyed sharing little bits of it with Elias. Ever eager to learn he always seemed receptive to her little vignettes. He'd even expressed interest in learning Japanese. They had agreed that it would be a venture better suited for winter when they would have a bit more time on their hands while the garden slept.

"Because Japanese is written vertically from right to left. Unlike English which is written horizontally from left to right. So it makes sense that the panels are laid out in the same direction the sentences are read."

"Ah, and the color?"

"Well, they're usually written by only one person and the come out pretty often. Black and white makes it quicker to do and less expensive." She had seen a few American comics in libraries and was awestruck by the expanse of color.

"Did you ever read them as a child?"

"Once or twice. I liked Doraemon." Although she was a tad uncomfortable with how closely she resembled the bumbling boy Nobita.

"Let's buy a copy next time we're out then."

She shifted a bit to fit more comfortably against Elias, who fully settled his large head against her shoulder, and began to read the thin book out loud. Despite her best efforts, reading English was something Chise still struggled with from time to time. But she had found reading out loud with Elias occasionally to be handy practice for not only for reading but her pronunciation as well. Tonight she put a little extra effort in making the words on the page lively through dramatic flourish and character voices. The comic was colorful with expressive silly art. Its humor was a bit on the crude boyish side, but she found herself smiling at the troublemaking antics. Elias even uttered a chuckle at the ornery boy sawing a table in half because he was bored.

About five minutes in, a very large, and obvious in hindsight, a flaw in the plan presented itself. The book was a collection of short strips, reminding her somewhat of 4-koma manga, and was, overall, about ten pages long. Even with both of the sample comics from both her and Elias' bags, the pages had been read from cover to cover and it wasn't even ten o'clock yet. She placed the thin pages on her lap in defeat.

"That was…really short. Sorry, I should have waited till I had a longer one."

"Don't be sorry." He paused in thought for a moment. "May I make a suggestion?"

"Of course."

He withdrew his right hand, with very noticeable reluctance, and traced a rectangle in the air with his forefinger. He stuck his hand through the shape he had made and quickly retracted bringing a tan book in tow. Chise took it in her hands as he lowered it to her lap. On the cover were illustrations in green ink of a man and woman in Victorian garb surrounded by three children in nightgowns and a large dog wearing a floppy bonnet sitting between them. On the left of the title stood a man in a long coat and hat sneering down at the children. On the right, a girl with feathers in her hair held a hatchet. Resting on the title with his arms draped over it lazily, a boy with an almost fae-like disposition in his features smiled at the scene below.

"Peter and Wendy by J.M. Barrie." Chise read with intrigue.

Elias' chin bobbed slightly against her shoulder as he resettled his arm around her waist. "You might also know it as 'Peter Pan'. It is my understanding that this story was first a stage play later transcribed into a novel."

"There's a film based on it too. I think I saw a bit of it once in a daycare." She turned the book over, feeling the slightly cracked spine and edges against the pads of her fingers.

"Is this an original copy?"

"Yes, I received it as payment from a colleague in London about a century ago, when it was still new. Silver likes to have up and coming literature on the living room shelves when the chance arrives."

Ah, so those were Silver's collection. Chise had thought it a little odd that Elias had taken to collecting poetry and fiction for decoration in the main room. Although she often found him leafing through the pages when there were no matters or orders pressing on their necks. He may not have started the collection but he appeared to appreciate it.

"Have you read it before?"

"I've skimmed the pages but not thoroughly. There are many like it in the living room, but I had heard it was undignified for grown humans to indulge in stories for children."

She often had to remind herself that despite the confidence in which he went about his actions, Elias was very worried about how he appeared to others. Much like she was. "Did that bother you, being seen as undignified I mean?"

He was silent for a moment, as he often was when he searched for words to give meaning to the uncertainty floating in his chest.

"I suppose it did at the time. I was- what did you call it? Self-conscious about how I was viewed. I didn't want to give anyone any more reason to stare at me than they already did. But over time I came to realize that people with preformed opinions would think what they would regardless of what I did, so I might as well do as I pleased."

Chise considered this. She had dealt with preformed opinions as long as she could remember but her approach had always been to be as subservient as possible in hope that she would at least be tolerated. The idea that she didn't owe some kind of apology for taking up space or causing trouble was still one she was unused to. That she could live in and act in any such way simply because she wanted to.

"That said," She was pulled out of her brief contemplation by Elias readjusting his position against the pillow "this is one indulgence hadn't considered revisiting in quite some time. I'm rather eager to find out what it holds."

Smiling, Chise leaned her cheek against the row of sharp teeth lining Elias' jaw. Elias' appreciative hum rumbled through her back and shoulders as he returned the gesture.

"Let's find out then."

They decided it would be best to trade off reading, Chise taking the job as narrator and any female characters while Elias took the rest. Chise had a little trouble with the slightly outdated English diction, but Elias was patient in explaining anything unclear to her. Before long they were engrossed in the tale of the boy who refused to grow up.

Chise enjoyed the quaint attitude the book had toward its outlandish whimsy. She laughed a bit at the scene of Wendy recovering from a bullet while a house was built around her, saying it reminded her of her long rest before meeting Titania and Oberon. Elias mentioned the several cases where the book's depiction of magic to be intriguing particularly the gold pixie dust. He said that might explain why he had heard tell of aerials insisting to human children that they could fly if they just grasped a bit of the light they left as they flew.

They hadn't planned on finishing the novella in its entirety that night, yet at some time near three in the morning, Chise closed the book without needing to mark it. She rubbed her eyes with her palm a taking a long yawn. She muttered pardon me around her droopy eyes before noticing the Elias had stiffened in his crisscross position, no longer resting his head on her shoulder but staring out at nothing.

"Elias, is something wrong? Did you like the story?"

"Nothing is…wrong and I liked it…except maybe the ending?" The question in his tone seemed aimed at himself rather than anyone listening.

Chise shifted, setting aside the torch and book so she could hold his hand as she settled against his chest. His free hand found her shoulder, rubbing it absently as he stretched out into a more comfortable position that they could fall asleep in. Chise felt the pent-up tension in his frame ease just a bit.

"What didn't you like?"

"When Wendy and the lost boys returned to London but Peter chose to stay in Neverland, I felt uneasy. And then again when he returned years later and felt betrayed that Wendy had grown and married even though he had been given every chance to stay with her. It felt…familiar but in an uncomfortable way."

Chise drew another yawn trying to fight the fluttering in her eyes.

"I don't know if there's a specific name for that feeling, empathy? Nostalgia maybe?" She shrugged "but I think you saw a bit of yourself in Peter and what he ended up doing felt scary because it felt like something you have done or might do?" What a shameful teacher she was! Elias was being open and honest while she couldn't keep her eyes open!

He hummed. "That might be it." He said flatly.

He was very scared to admit it, but in addition to what he had confessed to Chise, there had been one scene in particular that sent ice down his spine. When Peter had flown ahead to London, trying to bar the window and prevent Wendy from leaving Elias had thought of how he had almost lost the love of his bride through no fault but his own. He had very nearly been the boy flying at the window sill, watching in hurt and betrayal as his Wendy formed a life without him.

He gripped her shoulder a bit tighter.

"In some ways you are a bit like Peter, unstuck in time I mean." Her blinks we're getting much longer as she continued. "But Peter refused to grow up, even when given the chance. You really don't give yourself enough credit sometimes." She was rambling a bit, her words considerably less guarded in her half asleep state. "Anytime you do something wrong you always admit it and I've seen you grow from it. Even this, I mean yeah we're technically indulging in childhood but not because we don't want to grow up. But because growing up too soon took childhood from us and kept us from growing properly." Elias noticed that Chise was including herself in this observation and wondered at it. Perhaps it was simple drowsiness. But perhaps not.

Chise rested her cheek against his chest, "We're not in Neverland anymore." Her weight went slack against him as her eyes sealed shut like a flower closing its bloom.

Elias quietly watched her shoulders rise and fall as light snores whistled through her loosely parted lips. He wasn't sure he understood everything she had meant, or if Chise had even understood while sleep was setting in her, but felt comforted by her easy assurance. If she thought he was different from Peter Pan, he would believe her. He had learned that her intuition was right far more often than it was wrong.

He released the spell holding the quilted dome overhead and it floated on top of them before wrapping them up in warmth. Something caught his eye on the right of the bed and he shifted carefully to grasp it.

Elias was very quiet, except for the occasional chuckle, so as not to wake his Chise while he thumbed through the comic one more time before bed.


	3. Sweet Tooth

**Part 3: Sweet Tooth**

This one is a bit shorter than the previous ones but still decent length I think. It might be a while till the next chapter, but I'll try my best. :)

The Ancient Magus Bride is owned by Kore Yamazaki

* * *

A nervous bounce had settled in Chise's knee that evening as she, Elias and Ruth waited in the living room. Elias had taken to reading in his lounge chair and Ruth was curled in a peaceful nap next to the unlit hearth but Chise couldn't find anything to prevent her anxious fidgeting. The Silver Lady preferred to have dinner in summertime promptly at eight o'clock, right before sundown, and the grandfather clock had just struck nine.

Chise sighed, hoping she hadn't somehow offended the brownie. Earlier that day, Chise had returned from town with a bag of store brand candy along with the regular groceries. When Silver had come across them, Chise explained that she thought it would be fun to indulge in a bit of sweets with Elias for that day's childhood activity.

Silver listened, took one look at the plastic bag of hard candies and promptly dumped them in the waste bin.

Before Chise could protest Silver had already scrawled a list and forced it into the sleigh beggy's hands with a few extra bank notes and shooed her out the door. After a very confused shopping trip in the nearby village, Chise returned with everything on the list. Chise presented that day's second haul of groceries to the house spirit and was rewarded with expulsion from the kitchen. No one in the manor had seen hide nor hair of Silver Lady since.

Chise nearly jumped out of her skin when the gentle pealing of the supper bell broke the silence in the living room. The tension in the house had evidently only been felt by her, as Ruth, swirling into his human form, and Elias casually strode into the kitchen. With a small huff, Chise followed.

Upon crossing the threshold of the kitchen Chise gasped "Wow."

The kitchen counter was adorned with enormous beautiful bowls of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla ice cream each with a scoop sticking out of their sides. Beside the bowls sat plump bunches of every fruit the garden could yield, all picked, sliced and diced fresh no doubt. Silver had even taken it upon herself to make bubbly hot caramel by stovetop, gooey milk chocolate drizzle and fresh whipped cream that looked as though she had plucked a cloud from the sky and placed it in a bowl. The display could have made the finest creamery in all of England look like a melted popsicle.

"It would seem that dinner has been forgone tonight in favor of dessert." Elias said with a slight huff of amusement. "Was this your idea Chise?"

She scoffed with a grin. "My idea was a bag of candy after dinner." She took Silver's hands in her own. "This is amazing Silver! You've really outdone yourself." Chise praised causing Silver Lady glow with pride and self-satisfaction.

Ruth was practically panting, a rather amusing image in his human form, with an eager twinkle in his eye. "Awesome." He beamed when Silver handed each of them a large bowl and tried to rush for the sweets but received a rap on the knuckles from Silver. "Ow! What was that for?" He pouted nursing his assaulted hand.

Elias pointedly cleared his throat. "Where are your manners? It's rude to go before a lady."

"Elias its fine."

"No," Ruth said with a slightly guilty whine, "he's right, sorry Chise." Ruth stood back allowing Chise access to the counter. Blushing slightly at the attention the boys had brought to her selection process, she portioned two scoops of vanilla into her bowl. She moved to scoop a third before frowning and retracting her hand.

Elias cocked his head. "If you'd like more there's no reason not to have it."

"Yeah but..."

Rather than waiting for her to finish her sentence, Elias seized the handle and placed a hearty scoop in Chise's bowl. Chise scoffed a bit trying to hide her embarrassment and muttered a thank you. She finished out her sundae with strawberry slices drizzled in chocolate and caramel. Taking her spot at the table, Chise watched as Elias and Ruth prepared their treats.

Ruth wasted no time helping himself to the strawberry and triple servings of each topping. Elias, however, surprised Chise by choosing chocolate but stuck to fruit toppings with a large dollop of cream. Silver even secured herself a bit of vanilla and cream. As Elias settled into his seat across from her, out of the corner of her eye, Chise caught Silver ushering Ruth into the foyer.

Chise smirked. Meddling faeries.

She plucked a spoonful and popped it in her mouth. The vanilla melted slowly against her tongue, mingling with the strawberry slices and syrups just enough to complement but not overpower the toppings. She closed her eyes with a content sigh, taking in the sweetness with a pleased smile. Absolutely wonderful.

She chewed gingerly on the strawberry while Elias steadied a spoon to his teeth. Watching Elias eat was always a treat in its own right. He relied quite heavily on his tongue to guide loose morsels that most could count on their lips securing. Yet he always managed to make it look effortless. Most of the time Chise wouldn't catch his tongue poking out unless she deliberately looked for it. How long had it taken him to cultivate that skill?

"How is your ice cream?" She asked once Elias brought the spoon away from his mouth.

"Delicious, Silver made it after all." He answered knowing it was self-evident. "And yours?"

"It's wonderful." She rose an eyebrow. "I had thought you didn't like chocolate that much though?"

"I don't like chocolate candies, they're a bit hard to chew without making a mess. But when it is soft like this," he took another bite, his eyes dipping into a smile, "I do enjoy the flavor."

"Ah."

"I didn't think vanilla was your favorite."

She held her spoon in her mouth as she considered this. "By itself, I probably wouldn't have picked it. But it works great with toppings since chocolate or strawberry make it hard to taste them."

"I see."

He was silent for a moment, staring at her bowl. "It's been a while since you have done that."

She brought the spoon away from her mouth. "Done what?"

"Refused food when you wanted more." He said in a matter of fact manner.

Chise clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes a bit. "You and Ruth put me on the spot there, I was embarrassed."

Elias laughed lightly. "Sorry." He grew quiet again, seemingly lost in thought. "When you first arrived it sometimes seemed as if you were afraid dinner would bite you instead of the other way around." He sounded contemplative, and a bit melancholy.

She sighed. "Old habits die hard I guess." On the edge of her mind, she could hear huge human but not human teeth squelching over her breakfast, mocking her with their revelry in her meal. "The food sometimes did bite back."

"Chise… If you'd rather not…," he began before she shook her head.

"It's ok if you don't mind listening…" a sigh whistled through her nose and she smiled shyly, "it's probably better if I don't keep things bottled up."

Elias was very still as if her words had been soap bubbles he feared popping before he nodded. "I never mind listening."

Taking a deep breath, Chise leaned her cheek against her palm as she stared out the kitchen window and into the past. "That used to be one of the spirits' favorite ways to torment me. They liked to steal food off my plate, sometimes right out of my hands. My relatives thought I was turning down perfectly good food, which they had _slaved_ over as they were always quick to remind me, for no reason. Some of them stopped bothering to feed me if I was going to refuse anyway." Her thumb caressed the end of her spoon. "I was hungry all the time, but I was always scared to eat."

Those memories were a lifetime away now, yet at the slightest prompting, they returned as clear as day. It always felt like the bits of the past she didn't want to remember stuck to her brain like sticker burrs on a sock. And they dug into her fingers when she tried to pick them off.

Chise could feel the vibration of Elias' thoughtful hum against the table.

"When I first brought you home and I bathed you," Even years later, Chise couldn't help but blanch at the memory of that fateful day, "I remember thinking, 'Bones don't stick out like that on anything not starved half to death'." Chise's embarrassment quickly evaporated, it never failed to surprise her how much objectifying her would simply never occur in Elias' mind. "I wanted to make sure you never had to go hungry ever again. So I'm very glad to hear your opinions on the vanilla."

Chise rose a brow with an incredulous smile. "My opinions on ice cream?"

"Yes, I like to hear your preferences. They mean you have tasted enough different things to develop preferences and you can eat with the luxury of being selective."

Chise smiled as she brought the spoon back to her lips. Elias had once claimed that he bought her with little thought about what he was doing, assuming that little would need to be done. And yet, his actions even very early on clearly contradicted that statement. He was considerate and affectionate, in his own way, never missing a chance to comfort her or provide something she needed. She doubted he realized what he was doing, but felt touched none the less.

She held the spoon against her tongue ' _Tasted enough to have the luxury of being selective._ ' Something about those words recalled a memory she had dwelled little on since a night spent on the volcanic isle of Iceland many years ago.

"Did you ever manage to forget the taste of humans?"

His spoon clattered to the ground.

Chise's shoulders hitched as her world-famous timing reared its ugly head. She looked away from the table. "…Sorry. That was too much."

Without saying a word, Elias rose from his chair and collected the spoon from the floor. Still silent, he brought the spoon to the sink, rinsed it and returned to his chair. Chise released a breath she didn't remember holding, silently relieved he hadn't turned tail and ran. He set his head in his left hand staring at the utensil in his right. A long sigh whistled in through his nose and out through his mouth.

"It took longer than I care to admit," He spoke slowly, "but I was able to forget for a good while. The craving eventually left too. But it has an unfortunate habit of creeping back up if I'm not careful." He twirled the spoon between his thumb and forefinger, sighing again. "It is quite frustrating when it does resurface, I tend to wonder if all my efforts are in vain."

Honesty came easily to Elias. Fae couldn't lie properly after all, only obscure and withhold. But vulnerability, shedding light on long-buried secrets and shames, that was difficult. As difficult for him as any human, but with the added burden of knowing that few would ever see him in a positive light under the best circumstances. But in time and practice, he was slowly learning how to open up.

He never did so without prompting, and even then it was still guarded cautious bits of vague information. But the effort was there. And Chise cherished every brief glimpse she got of the true Elias. A scared lonely creature left to fend for himself in a world that didn't want him. And still, people were somehow blind to the similarities between him and herself.

"That's ok," she took his hand that lay against the table urging him to meet her gaze "it's a little bit like how I almost refused food when I didn't have to. It's a reflex but being aware of it helps me know how to deal with it. Just because the urge is there doesn't mean the progress you've made was for nothing. In fact, its great progress that you understand the feeling well enough to take precautions." She paused for a small steading breath before quietly adding, "And now you have me to help you and I have you."

Elias shifted the spoon to thread his fingers through hers. "That's very reassuring." Her cursed ebony fingers interlocked with his silky white-gloved fingers reminded her of piano keys.

Chise knew she should probably leave the topic at that, but she was feeling emboldened by his receptiveness. "Is that what happened that one night? A craving came back?"

Elias shook his head as an equally exasperated and amused scoff puffed out his mouth. "I don't know why I still have trouble talking about this. The fact that I haven't somehow managed to run you off permanently by now should be proof enough that I'll never be rid of you."

Chise snorted. "You're stuck with me whether you like it or not."

"Good thing I like it a lot then." The brief happy beat in his demeanor faded. "I'm not exactly sure what happened that night. What I think is that during the fight with that chimera, I…swallowed…a bit of its flesh. Or at least its blood happened to awake the old urges."

Chise rose a brow. "But you had tasted my blood before and you seemed just fine."

"I was fully comprehensive then. During the fight, I was not." He placed his free hand on his chin, briefly searching for something in the corners of his skull. "You know how when you accidentally touch something hot and move your hand back without thinking?"

She nodded.

"When I lose control of my body it's something like that. Like it's moving and acting of its own will, or of someone else's will. And I'm just a passenger within. This probably sounds strange given how I appear during those times, but when I'm like that I tend to feel…helpless."

She didn't think it was strange.

Chise held his hand a little tighter and rubbed her thumb against his knuckles. "Thank you for sharing this with me." She said quietly. She was unsure what else she should say, and so said nothing. She continued to caress his hand just to assure him she was there. Elias squeezed her hand back.

"Thank you for listening."

She released his hand and drew another spoonful of her sundae, deliberately seizing a particularly plump strawberry slice, and offered it to him.

"Let's eat, for no other reason than we want to, shall we?" he nodded and licked the spoon clean.

"You're right about the vanilla."

Despite the sentiment of their conversation, neither Chise nor Elias found that they could finish their just desserts.

Chise laid with her head on the table, temples throbbing and stomach groaning. She wasn't sure which was worse, the splitting headache from the cold cream that had to be enchanted to never melt in the bowl or her overfull belly. She had gotten a little over halfway finished when she had to cry uncle. Elias had gotten a little further, two thirds, before keeling back in his chair. She should've known that since this was Silky's creation, it would have been richer and packed with more sugar than any food meant for human consumption could ever be. Words like 'calorie conscious' were likely obscenities to the house spirit.

"This was nice at first," Elias began slowly, "But I can clearly see why we ca-"

A strange hiccupping rumble escaped Elias' mouth causing Chise to raise her head in surprise. It had apparently surprised him just as much, if not more, as he immediately shot up straight and clamped his hand over his mouth. Wide round eyes spelled out his stunned embarrassment. Chise blinked twice.

Did Elias just…belch? Prim and proper English gentleman Elias?

Chise could count the times she had seen Elias this genuinely embarrassed on one hand. He was extremely proficient in being indifferent to the actions and accusations of others, or at least appearing to be. He only truly became flustered when Chise was involved.

Elias shuffled uneasily, clearly deciding the manner in which to best save face. Chise fought a grin for a moment. How adorable it was to see the mighty Pilum Murialis reduced to a nervous schoolboy. Still, it would be cruel to leave him fretting like this. Clearing his throat, he cautiously released his maw from his iron grip.

"I-" he began before jumping at Chise's answering belch.

It was a little louder and longer than his had been, but in Chise's defense, she was actually trying. She offered a small sheepish smile. "Excuse me."

The kitchen was silent.

Elias snorted. Chise giggled.

In the span of a second bubbly laughter filled the kitchen. Odd hissing chortles spilled between Elias' teeth while Chise had thrown her head back with a surprisingly loud laugh coming straight from her diaphragm. Chise's cheeks had begun to hurt from smiling so hard, but the feather-light feeling spreading through her body was worth it.

Maybe a bit of embarrassment every so often wasn't so bad after all.


End file.
